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Scale & Strategy

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This is Scale & Strategy, the newsletter that should come with a health warning: “makes business addictive”.

Here’s what we got for you today:

• Google Ads Editor gets an upgrade, forum results hit Search Console, and AI is freelancing answers
• An AI That Listens Like a Nerd—and Learns Like One Too
• Microsoft cuts 9,000 jobs as it doubles down on AI

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Google Ads Editor gets an upgrade, forum results hit Search Console, and AI is freelancing answers

Top off that coffee—we’ve got a pile of fresh Google updates to dig through.

Ads Editor v2.10 just dropped, and it’s packed with over 20 updates designed to give advertisers more control and performance levers. A few highlights:

• Campaign-level negative keywords for Performance Max (finally)
• Full support for 9:16 verticals in Demand Gen
• Targeting by desktop OS, including Windows 11 and macOS

Plus: expanded AI features, new Demand Gen tweaks, and additional Performance Max updates across the board.

If you’re deep in the platform daily, this update’s worth a full run-through.

Meanwhile, Search Console got a subtle—but useful—upgrade.​
Discussion Forum rich results now show as a unique search appearance in performance reporting. If you run any forum-driven content, it’s now easier to track visibility.

And one more update worth watching: Google’s AI is quietly filling in search answers.

A recent study found that nearly 13% of “People Also Ask” results are AI-generated—especially when no clear web page covers the query. Translation: Google is guessing.

For SEOs and content teams, that’s a double-edged sword:

• Yes, AI might reduce some organic traffic.
• But if Google is hallucinating answers, that’s a big signal there’s a content gap worth owning.

If the bots are bluffing, that’s your opening to rank with the real thing.

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An AI That Listens Like a Nerd—and Learns Like One Too

Researchers at Boston University have developed PodGPT, a new AI model that trains not just on written material—but on spoken science and medical podcasts.

Instead of feeding it the usual text-based datasets, they gave it over 3,700 hours of expert conversations: interviews, lectures, panels, and more. The goal? See if AI gets smarter when it hears how real people talk through complex ideas.

The results were impressive. When tested on biology, math, and medical quizzes—even in different languages—PodGPT delivered more accurate, more detailed responses than traditional models.

Key takeaways:

• AI learned better by listening to experts talk, not just write
• Real-world conversations boosted its reasoning and accuracy
• Potential uses span healthcare, education, and multilingual learning

Why it matters:​
This isn’t just about building better models—it’s about building more human ones. PodGPT shows that how something is said may be just as important as what’s being said.

It’s a step toward AI that understands the nuance of human expertise—and makes complex topics more accessible across languages and learning styles.

The AI didn’t just read the textbook.
​It listened to the lecture—and took notes.

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Microsoft cuts 9,000 jobs as it doubles down on AI

Microsoft is laying off up to 9,000 employees, roughly 4% of its global workforce, in a sweeping round of cuts that signals a sharp shift in focus toward artificial intelligence.

While the company hasn’t confirmed which teams are impacted, multiple reports suggest Xbox and related game studios are taking a major hit. Flagship titles like Perfect Dark and Everwild are rumored to be cancelled, and entire teams—including The Initiative—are reportedly being shut down.

This comes as Microsoft continues to invest heavily in AI, with plans to spend $80 billion building out its data center infrastructure. The layoffs reflect a broader repositioning: fewer bets on gaming, more on long-term AI dominance.

Here’s what to know:

• Up to 9,000 roles cut, including gaming studios and development teams.
• Microsoft is investing $80B in AI infrastructure to support its Copilot ecosystem and enterprise AI push.
• Xbox’s struggles are longstanding—Game Pass growth has stalled, and Series consoles are underperforming even compared to the Xbox One.

Ctrl + Alt + Rethink

Microsoft says these moves are necessary to stay competitive as the tech landscape rapidly evolves. They’re not alone—Meta and Amazon are also restructuring, pouring billions into AI and snapping up talent with massive bonuses.

Meta is reportedly offering over $100M signing packages to AI researchers. Microsoft, meanwhile, continues to push Copilot to businesses—but many workers still prefer the simplicity and flexibility of ChatGPT.

If 2023 was the year AI proved it worked, 2025 will be the year it has to prove it’s worth the cost.

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